UPDATE: The Missouri Women’s Filibuster began last Monday May 14 at 2pm and ended 72 hours later on Thursday May 17 at 2pm. Very early Tuesday morning the Senate Democrats took a GOP leadership deal and HORSE-TRADED the 72 hour bill, HB1307 away.
They agreed to stand down their filibuster and the Senate then voted 22-9 to pass it. The House voted Thursday 111-39 and sent the bill to Governor NIxon’s desk. The governor has 45 days to take action on HB1307, once he received it.
I am so proud of everyone who participated including Ryann Summerford, the Planned Parenthood Missouri lobbyist. She deserves much praise for her hard work this session with many late nights fighting ALL 32 anti-women bills.
STAY TUNED as Missouri women fight back hard for his veto – you can help here: http://bit.ly/vetohb1307.
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72 HOUR WOMEN’S FILIBUSTER : Rep. Stacey Newman’s Capitol Report
Doctors, students & activists – courtesy of Progress Missouri
This past Monday hundreds of activists via Planned Parenthood Advocates in Missouri began a nonstop round the clock “Women’s Flibuster” on the steps of the Missouri Capitol.
They were protesting against HB1307 which would triple the delay (3 days) a woman would be forced to wait before having an abortion. The activists’ hope was to prevent the Senate GOP from breaking a Democratic filibuster on the bill (which had already passed the House.)
The Women’s Filibuster went nonstop for 72 hours, the same amount of time women would be required to wait before having an abortion if the bill became law.
From Paula Gianino, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region/Southwest Missouri:
“The Women’s Filibuster has lit a fuse in Missouri and around the country. Folks on Twitter sent more than 3,700 tweets showing their support for the Women’s Filibuster since it began. The #womensfilibuster hashtag reached over 850,000 people.”
From Huffington Post last week:
Liz Read-Katz, a stay-at-home mother from Columbia, Missouri, kicked off the protest by sharing the story of having an abortion after she and her husband learned that their baby had serious medical problems and would not survive after birth.
Liz Katz-Reid, courtesy of Progress Missouri
“This was the hardest and saddest decision I have ever made, but one that I made because it was in my best interest, my family’s best interest, and because I loved my baby so much I couldn’t stand the thought of her being born in pain and agony and to only ever see the walls of a hospital,” she said.
“An additional 72-hour wait, extra ultrasounds, mandatory videos would not have changed my mind, they would have just caused me more pain than I was already going through.”
Media Coverage from around the nation:
- Huffington Post – Missouri Women “Filibuster Abortion Bill, Wendy Davis-Style
- Glamour Blog – Missouri Women Launch 72-Hour Filibuster to Protest New Abortion..
- Think Progress – Missourians Launch 72 Hour ‘Women’s Filibuster’
I was scheduled to take a turn at the podium late Wednesday night during the filibuster but Sarah Felts of Progress Missouri (at left) volunteered to read on my behalf. SO THEN WHAT HAPPENED?
The nine Senate Democrats horse-traded bills to avoid any Republican PQ’s (previous question motions which shuts down all debate and is rarely used in the Missouri Senate).
The Senators gave up their filibuster and traded the 72 Hour Abortion Delay and the “Scam” Early Voting Bills in exchange for the GOP
standing down on Voter ID and Paycheck Protection.
Very late Monday night, as the outside filibuster continued on, the Senate passed the HB1307 by a vote of 22 to 9.
“The Senate filibuster lasted only about two hours. The Senate stood at ease for about 40 minutes while Senate Republicans conferred. After the Senate returned to debate, Democrats yielded the floor and the measure passed shortly after midnight.” – St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- Star: Missouri abortion bill insults women
- AP: Missouri Senate OKs 3-Day Abortion Waiting Period
- Missouri Times: Ignoring Women’s Protest, Missouri Senate Passes Billl Tripling Time Women Must Delay Their Abortions
- RFT: Missouri Senate Passes 72-Hour Waiting Period for Abortions
- Star: The Missouri Senate after dark: What got traded
- PoliticMO: Nixon hints 72-hour abortion ban could go into effect without his signature
- Star: Missouri lawmakers extend abortion wait to 72 hours in deal tied to voting and union rules
- Post-Dispatch: Missouri Senate passes 72 hour waiting period before an abortion
- Star: Missouri lawmakers extend abortion wait to 72 hours in deal tied to voting and union rules
Volunteers with the Women’s Filibuster in the wee hours after midnight – courtesy of Progress Missouri
The House gave HB1307 its last final vote on Wednesday evening (a veto proof vote of 111-39). The bill then went straight to Governor Nixon’s desk and contains NO excemption for rape or incest.
“Nixon called the measure, HB 1307, to impose a 72-hour timeframe between a woman’s initial doctor visit and the procedure an “extreme proposal.” He criticized lawmakers for not including an exemption for victims of rape and incest.” – The Associated Press on Friday.
Rep. Stacey Newman : “I am still quite angry that a Missouri women’s right to her own pregnancy decisions was horse-traded in a political cat and mouse game.”
“Women throughout Missouri will suffer if HB1307 becomes law. Legislators are not gynecologists and it is degrading and shameful to women to pretend they are.”